So I came -no pun- across this at GAF...

“This is an action game in which players assume the role of Marius Titus, a Roman soldier who seeks revenge for the slaying of his family. Players use swords and spears to kill barbarian hoards in frenetic melee-style combat. Battles are highlighted by slow-motion and blood-splatter effects; enemies are frequently impaled, decapitated, and dismembered. Some environments depict bloody limbs and dismembered corpses on spikes. Cutscenes also depict intense acts of violence: caged soldiers burned alive; a character repeatedly stabbed with a knife. During the course of the game, female characters are sometimes depicted topless (e.g., pasties over breasts; covered in body paint). One brief sequence depicts a dancer bending down in front of a man (fellatio is implied)—there is no depiction of the sex act. The word “f**k” can be heard in the game.”

http://www.examiner.com/article/ryse-son-of-rome-partial-nudity-sexual-content-and-more-revealed

Realism, skin shaders and that full body animation.......Pervs! Formation!

Can't see why this hasn't been demoed yet. What's up with that Crytek? We've seen enough manly men in tunics and chopped off arms. Why you holding back the goods? I wanna see the next-gen ass and boobs with so much jiggle it will make the Butt Jiggle forum posters blush.

It really does make one wonder if that part was completely, full body motion captured as well....Hey, it's all in the name of realism and historical accuracy. Romans were some raw freaks if Rome is anything to go off of.

Shit, @perverted_perfection update the Butt Jiggle wiki!

It's sounding more and more like God of War.

GoW introduced nudity and sex?

So, I can't be the only one that feels like this actually makes the game sound -less- appealing, right?

I mean, are we really hurting for more gratuitous violence and sex? I guess there might be some interest in seeing what it will be like on newer hardware, but hearing more about interesting gameplay would be more encouraging to me than hearing about men being burned alive and women giving your character a blow job.

This was probably motion captured too. I bet the behind the scenes for those particular captures must've been a gag with the crew filming it.

Personally I'm fine with substituting some of the gore for more sex. Games definitely need more sex. Too much violence, not enough sex. Kind of how I feel about the USA as a whole.

Besides, strippers need work too.

The game seems to be pushing a lot of gore, not just more sex. At the moment, and even by that above description, it looks like it will have far more gratuitous violence than sex. Neither of which really seem to be in service of a better game. Sounds more like glossing up the game with the trappings of empty "mature" content, as far too many games already do.

Who gives a fat shit about a topless girl bending over? This part is just fucking ridiculous, though:

Battles are highlighted by slow-motion and blood-splatter effects; enemies are frequently impaled, decapitated, and dismembered. Some environments depict bloody limbs and dismembered corpses on spikes. Cutscenes also depict intense acts of violence: caged soldiers burned alive; a character repeatedly stabbed with a knife.

What's wrong with these people? Name one self-respecting medium that promotes itself this way.. Goddamn, the video game industry has a long way to go!

You can't be serious.

I'd rather have more whimsy in video games than gore and boobs. Just saying.

That stuff probably didn't show up when they were demoing the game before, because huge dramatic battlescapes make for better E3 moments than assorted sections of nudity and random dudes just getting stabbed. Honestly, swearing, gore, and sexualised women are pretty much the bread and butter of video games. You can create a lot of fun with those things, but I don't think it's some huge draw that Crytek has that stuff in their game and when a dev is as over-the-top with that stuff as it sounds like they're trying to be it usually comes off feeling kind of obnoxious.

Film! Well, that was easy.

Unfortunately, a lot of television and movies do this, as well, and very closely related to this, the TV show Rome notably promoted itself through its loads of violence and sex; yet, it failed under the weight of not having much more to it.

I definitely don't think these are great selling points, and I'm a little creeped out by anyone salivating over details like this. If they show some cool scenes and potentially fun gameplay, then I'll start getting a bit excited about the game.

This text was written by the ESRB, it's not meant to promote the game in any way.

Y need to fynd extra bullets yn order to fyre mi gun.

Rome was an amazing TV show. The best HBO has ever done and far better than the Sopranos and far better than trash like True Blood that so many people eat it up or boring ass shows like Six Feet Under or Boardwalk Empire. It was movie-like quality in a TV series, with fantastic characters and actors, and was originally only supposed to be a mini-series to boot. It failed because HBO spent an insane amount of money on the sets that it could never realistically make back unless it was even bigger than the Sopranos. But it wasn't because of its violence or sex, which was nowhere near as disgusting as something like Oz and that went on for a few seasons. Not to mention HBO failed to promote it. Cheap sets like True Blood or the Sopranos bring in a lot more profit than something like Rome.

How do I stab the breasts?

Nothing is more ancient Roman than the word "f**k".

@slashdance: Oh, that makes a lot more sense. Though, from what they've chosen to show of the game, it wouldn't come as a surprise if they'd wrote it themselves.

I think by Jupiter's [redacted] is up there too, along with the "I've got sand in my sandals again" phrase.

Too funny ;)

@sharkethic: Violence is always ok the dangerous part is going to be the topless one for sure. Also as bad as this sounds there is no beheading which Crytek already confirmed

Only you my friend. I was playing Resident Evil 6 recently and not having a terribly great time at it - then there was a scene where a lady bursts out of a cocoon with a lingering side boob shot - instantly 5/5

@alexglass said:

Yeah okay, it was badly worded:) Name one medium worth respecting that promotes itself this way, would be my chosen wording if I could have a do over. But yeah, turns out it wasn't promotional material, so the point is kinda moot.

If it were to be translated to modern English, you're right, nothing is more ancient Roman than the word 'Fuck'!

Anyway, sex and violence is pretty much what I expect from a game centered on ancient Rome. I dunno if you guys know, but they had a lot of both of those things!

heh. Yeah, it's the little things that turn a game around, right?

Well, futuo actually, but fuck doesn't even begin to describe the vulgarity of Latin cursewords. It's too bad English can't even come close to capturing that because they're shockingly good -or bad- depending on how you look at it and a lot more creative and quite detailed in terms of imagery. It's almost a literal art form. Compared to Latin cursewords, I would say English is probably rated PG.

I like you. You made my point better than I made my point. (see above post)

Gamechanger..

!

@truthtellah: Although I hope there are outfits. Like in RE5 after you beat the game you could choose an alternate outfit for the female protagonist, Sheva I think? It was basically a shimmering gold mini dress cut well above the knee with a deep neckline and heels to match. Rolling around in that outfit, shooting zombies in disgusting sewers.. man that was something.

I was gonna pass on that game anyway, after reading this, I wish I can pass on it twice... -.-

What if a Double Fine game had hella boobs?

In other words, you hope the burly main character of Ryse will be able to unlock a shimmering mini dress for a second playthrough?

I agree, that may actually make it better.

No sir you are not. I wasn't too interested in the game to begin with, but man was the paragraph everything I needed to hear about the game to know I have no interest in it. Everything I've seen and especially everything written in the OP makes this game seem like a yet another extremely immature implementation of "mature" themes existing solely for the gratification of immature gamers.

Everything described would pretty much be exactly what I would have wanted in a game when I was 12 years old and my parents still monitored what I played, but as an adult gamer I am way past the point of enjoying games with sex and violence for the sake of sex and violence. I'm not offended by any means, but I prefer games that handle mature themes in a mature way, not like this (though I am sure some 12 year old will love the hell out of this game).

What is the "mature way" of handling violence and sex in ancient Rome? Just not displaying it? Censorship? Idealizing it? Softening it up? Just out of curiosity.

i knew before but i definitely know now that you will be so wet when the xbox goes on sale and you get your grubby hands on both.

*sigh*

What does whether or not God of War was the first to do it matter?

Here's our growing list of similarities:

• gratuitous violence
• character action game
• quick time event executions
• revenge story
• family murdered
• ancient civilization

and now we have

• gratuitous nudity

Honestly, anyone pretending not to have noticed is just being obtuse at this point.

Waaah, stop liking what I don't like! Sex is dirty and gross!

I have literally zero interest in this game, but come the fuck on. Stop acting like you're above everyone else just because you like different things.

You can have it, absolutely. Just like violence in war games. There is violence in war; so, it shows up. Yet, you don't have to dwell on gore or sex, and you certainly don't need to just exploit it to make a game seem more "mature". A lot of media does that, and it's unfortunate.

It's one thing to have a lot of shooting in a game like Call of Duty, but it's an example of a series that has tried to add "mature" elements without really bringing anything mature to it. The wrong way to do it is like Black Ops' scene where it cuts to someone burning alive in a vehicle, and then it just lingers on them. Or when you attack a soldier and slit their throat, and then it just focuses on the life going out of their eyes. These are grotesque scenes which are intentionally thrusting gore simply for the sake of gore.

As far as ancient Rome goes, there was certainly violence and sex. There's nothing wrong with a game including that. But they can be included and focused on in a gruesome or inappropriate manner. And even if these things are realistic to the setting, we don't necessarily have to celebrate or delight in them. These are the hidden "goodies" they haven't mentioned yet? It's rather odd to lust after even more violence or sex in games, as we already have quite a bit of it. Particularly violence.

So, when I hear a description like that, it just sounds like more of the same, and from the impressions they've given about the kind of game this is going to be, they haven't inspired confidence that they're going to not just be using these elements for shock value, gore, or simple titillation. I hope they will do a better job with it than I expect, but I wouldn't say this description gives me any more confidence in that possibility.

Why can't it just be a game about the Roman empire? Which it has a lot more similarity to?

it's called a moot point, not a mute point

Considering I don't like most of Double Fine's stuff, no.

That's not what he was saying at all, but whatever, be that way.

Duly noted.

Ever hear of slasher films?

Well I'm just trying to figure out how Ryse's violence or sex scene can be described in any way, shape or form as gratuitous in the context of its setting, the Roman empire.

If it was Mario World, maybe "gratuitous" would fit. You're a fucking soldier in ancient Rome. They killed people with a sword in the most gruesome manner, which Ryse doesn't even come close to capturing btw, and often screwed whores, sometimes in the most vulgar manner, which that little snippet also doesn't come close to capturing. Sex and violence was a big part of Rome. It was by far one of the most aggressive, war-mongering empires of all time. They truly and literally waged wars FOR the honor of war, gold and whores.

Or maybe people just don't really understand and misuse the phrase "gratuitous violence or sex". Because to me this is like saying church endorses a gratuitous amount of religion.

That's a good question, but no one with a simple answer. I guess on the violence topic I'd say look at something like the film Gladiator. It was extremely violent and gory, but it wasn't presented as a reward for the viewer. The main character was a violent man out of necessity, he didn't enjoy the horrible things he did to survive another day.

Things like God of War and it appears Ryse use over the top violence and gore as some sort of reward to the player for defeating enemies. It is expected you will relish the insanely violent things your character does. Just look at the pathetic examples of crowds at E3 applauding and cheering when extremely violent things happen during gameplay demos of God of War or more recently the Last of Us (despite the fact that game actually handles violence in a very mature way) for an example of what I mean. I don't mind gore if it feels grounded in the setting and world (where it can actually enhance the experience), but when characters go out of there way to kill enemies in the most graphic and gruesome ways imaginable, it just feels gratuitous.

Sex is a similar situation. Ideally it wouldn't be a reward for the player. I have no problem with sex in games, but ideally there is a reason for it other than pure titillation. For as awkward and poorly executed as the sex scenes are in Bioware games, at least they are presented in the context of characters forming a relationship over time. Not to keep harping on God of War, but it does seem the best comparison for Ryse. In those games the sex scenes come out of nowhere and serve no narrative purpose, they exist solely for the gratification of the player. So basically my answer for to how maturely present sex scenes in an ancient Rome setting: make it have a purpose to the game other than titillation. When a character's only purpose in the entire game is to have sex with the main character and then never be seen again, that is the definition of immaturely handling the topic. What do I know, I haven't played Ryse, maybe it actually handles the topic of sex very tastefully, but I highly doubt it.

Like I said, it's not as though I'm offended, and I've really enjoyed things like God of War in the past. Perhaps I am looking for something out of a game that has no intention of offering it and should accept it isn't for me and just let it go.